 "Joe", Denis, Lynne, Hyrum, and Pauline.At the time of his calling to the patriarchate, Smith was a member of the church's Mutual Improvement Association General Board, head of the Speech Department at the University of Utah (though he did not hold a Ph.D.), and was also president of the National Speech Association.His calling as patriarch filled a vacancy that had lasted just over ten years, and his selection for the office has been seen by some as a departure from the expected line of patriarchal succession from father to his eldest son in good standing with the church.